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People watch from an overlook as an American Airlines plane takes off near the air traffic control tower at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles on Nov. 12, 2025. Mario Tama/Getty Images
U.S. airport security agents screened 3.13 million passengers on Nov. 30, the highest number ever recorded for one day by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the agency said.
Part of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the busy day full of returning travelers set a record despite winter storms in the Midwest.
Trade group Airlines for America predicted the record-breaking number of travelers earlier this month.
The group estimated that U.S. airlines would fly 2.8 million passengers per day and offer 45,000 more seats daily than in 2024. The busiest days were expected to be Sunday and Monday.
“We’re all looking forward to going home for the holidays,” the group’s president, Chris Sununu, said in a statement.
Storms battered the Midwest and Great Lakes region, producing heavy snow, gusty winds, and hazardous travel conditions. Iowa reported 14 inches of fresh snow in one day, and some areas of Illinois and Missouri also had more than eight inches.
The storms caused 7,563 flights to be delayed or canceled on Nov. 29.
The TSA’s top 10 busiest days are now all above 3 million passengers, according to the TSA.
The second busiest airport travel day for the 2025 Thanksgiving holiday weekend was Nov. 26, when nearly 2.8 million passengers were screened at safety checkpoints. Thanksgiving Day was slower, with slightly more than 1.5 million travelers screened.
In 2024, nearly 3.09 million travelers were screened on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, according to the TSA.
Before 2024, the TSA had screened more than 3 million passengers in a single day only twice, but it surpassed 3 million on eight days in 2025.
The Federal Aviation Administration forecast that more than 360,000 flights over the nine-day Thanksgiving travel period would be the highest number in 15 years.
Air traffic controllers, who are back to work after the lengthy government shutdown, were expected to use a variety of strategies to help flights move safely.
Travelers make their way through the Nashville International Airport on Nov. 25, 2025. George Walker IV/AP Photo
As part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s new campaign for civility in the air, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy encouraged passengers to reduce their stress, in a video released on Nov. 30 that also featured a United Airlines flight attendant. The two suggested booking early morning flights and communicating with flight staff, and they encouraged the use of airport sensory pods to ease nerves.
“A lot of people fly without stress. I’m one of them,” Duffy said in the video. “But if you do travel with someone who does have that stress, you kind of absorb that stress. To have some tools and options to reduce that unease is critical.”
Duffy also recently promoted the idea of dressing more respectfully when taking flights and bringing back what he called the “Golden Age of travel.”
Jill McLaughlin is an award-winning journalist covering politics, environment, and statewide issues. She has been a reporter and editor for newspapers in Oregon, Nevada, and New Mexico. Jill was born in Yosemite National Park and enjoys the majestic outdoors, traveling, golfing, and hiking.
